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Hyundai, BMW in plant talks with Mexican officials

BMW and Hyundai may be joining the rush for the border that has already seen Nissan, Honda and Mazda begin factory construction in Mexico, while Ford and General Motors have both made significant investments in their Mexican facilities. BMW's interest in Mexico has been apparent for some time, and while we'd heard grumblings about Hyundai's move into Latin America some time ago, the last we heard about it was in 2009.
This new move, reported by Bloomberg, doesn't get specific on which models will be produced south of the Rio Grande, and as neither automakers' spokespeople responded to the business site's request for statements, all we really have to go on are the statements of Mexico's Economy Minister, Ildefonso Guajardo: "I cannot talk for them, but I think that starting 2014 we'll have new announcements. At least for one." Which manufacturer that will be remains anyone's guess, although judging by all the recent scuttlebutt that's been going around, the smart money seems to be on BMW. We'll stay with this one.

2014 BMW 328d xDrive Sport Wagon

There's a running joke among auto writers that the perfect car would be a diesel-powered, rear-drive wagon with manual transmission and no power accessories whatsoever. It would only be available in brown and would somehow be as fun to drive as a Mazda MX-5 Miata. Makes total sense, right?
Realistically, no manufacturer is ever going to completely fulfill our wishes, no matter how much we beg, plead, kick and scream about our dream car that most of us would actually never buy. The best we can do is hope for a vehicle that mixes some aspects of this ideal journalist's car. And in today's world, that vehicle just might be the BMW 328d xDrive Sport Wagon.
No, it's not available with a manual gearbox, and power can only be sent through an xDrive all-wheel-drive system. It's also not available in brown (although both Mojave Metallic and Sparkling Bronze Metallic are acceptable stand-ins), but it ticks the two main boxes of being a diesel-powered wagon, one of only a couple such models in the United States.

Rinspeed previews Budii concept ahead of Geneva show

Every year Frank Rinderknecht and his team at Rinspeed come to the Geneva Motor Show with another fantastical concept car, and next year's will be no exception. Though the show may still be several months away, the Swiss outfit is already giving us a glimpse of what to expect. Rinspeed's latest project is called the Budii, and it aims to "redefine the relationship between man and machine." As you might have guessed, that means driverless technology. Specific details at this point are limited, but the design calls for an electric vehicle with an adaptable cabin featuring drive-by-wire steering wheel. That wheel can swing out of the way to the center of the dashboard or to either side, should driver or passenger (as blurred as those rigid concepts become in this case) wish to take control. Beyond that we don't know much at this point, but the image above seems to indicate it'll be based on the BMW i3. Meanwhile the long list of partners and suppliers suggest it'll feature a design by Mansory, a Harman infotainment system and a Carl F. Bucherer analog clock embedded in the dynamic dashboard. 2015 Geneva Motor Show Rinspeed exhibits "Budii" at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show: "We need to redefine the relationship between man and machine" As far as Swiss automotive visionary Frank M. Rinderknecht is concerned, the breakneck speed of technical developments forces us to redefine our relationship with the automobile. The farsighted Swiss says: "Until now, what we have primarily associated with auto mobility was freedom and individuality. And - consciously or unconsciously - we are prepared to pay a high price in many regards for these privileges. We need only look at the accident statistics." Autonomous driving undoubtedly offers the opportunity to drastically diminish some of the drawbacks of private transport. For example, the number of traffic accidents could drop worldwide. But although it will be less prone to err than humans, even the best technology will not be perfect. "That is something we will have to accept," believes the boss of Rinspeed, the Swiss automotive powerhouse of ideas.